Anyone with good leader qualities is likely to succeed in their endeavours whether they have a business or not. Obviously an entrepreneur must have the qualities of a good leader but for others too, these turn out be really useful.

In order to succeed especially if you have a business that you want to grow, you need to ask yourself this question,’What are the qualities of a good leader and how can I execute them in my business?’ The day you find the answer to that question is the day no employ would want to resign from your company.

Imagine having skills and qualities of a leader with whom everyone wants to work. Felt good right? If your employees consider it a honour to work with you, you can call yourself an amazing leader.

It’s very rare to hear from someone that they love their job. And the main reason behind this is usually because their bosses have made their lives miserable. It’s not that the boss is wrong. They are trying to run a company but the problem is they are not a good leader. They don’t know how to manage their employees.

Any job can be a dream job if the boss is compassionate and understanding. It’s actually really beneficial for the whole corporation if they are led by an amazing leader.

So let’s see what are these qualities of a good leader that would make people want to work for you.

1. You are sincere

You aren’t the kind of person who would say anything to get the work done and once it’s done, your behavior changes. Never promise anything that you cannot deliver. You should forget about the benefits to yourself and concentrate on the benefits to the other person.

You need to consider their benefits as your own because if they are happy, they would likely be doing the work sincerely as you asked them to. So in the end, it’s beneficial for your business only.

How to Apply: Suppose you have a small business, a startup basically, and you want to hire an intern but you have a low budget. So instead of making hollow promises that you’d give them a massive raise in coming months which you know wouldn’t happen, sincerely tell them that you are just starting out and you’d provide them with everything you are capable of. Tell them you’d be really grateful if they join your business and both of you would learn a lot if given a chance.

2. You are focused

One of the major qualities of a good leader is that they should be focused. They have a set goal in mind. Their mind is not wandering off to different places. You have a project and you know how and when it needs to completed.

You are clear with your objectives and this makes the other person to be able to deliver exactly what’s required. This makes the job easier for you and the other person too.

How to Apply: You allot a project to one of your employees with a clear cut goal in written form. Be specific of how and when you want it to be done. But remember to put yourself in their shoes if they don’t meet your expectations. Don’t go out undermining their efforts. Appreciate the efforts and ask them to politely rectify the mistakes.

3. You are empathetic

This quality is something that majorly lacks in almost all of us. And it’s not only important for entrepreneurs but for every human being. Empathy is something everyone needs to learn to develop, including me. Ask yourself what is it the other person really wants. Consider the benefits that person will receive from doing what you suggest.

This way you’ll get your work done the way you want and the person doing the job would be happy too. It’s a win win situation. But the reason it doesn’t happen is because we let our ego take over. And when the ego takes over, you can say goodbye to being a good leader. So never ever, let ego have a role in making big decisions.

How to apply: When you make your request, put it in a form that will convey to the other person the idea that they personally will benefit. We could give a curt order like this: ” Lucy, we have customers coming in tomorrow and I need the stockroom cleaned out. So sweep it out, put the stock in neat piles on the shelves and polish the counter.”

Or we could express the same idea by showing Lucy the benefits she will get from doing the task: “Lucy, we have a job that should be completed right away. If it is done now, we won’t be faced with it later. I am bringing some customers in tomorrow to show our facilities. I would like to show them the stockroom, but it is in poor shape. If you could sweep it out, put the stock in neat piles on the shelves, and polish the counter, it would make us look efficient and you will have done your part to provide a good company image.”

This is an excerpt from a bestseller How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegi. This correctly explains how a leader should act with their subordinates.

Related: How to find your Passion?

4. You are strategic

One of the best qualities of a good leader is that they are strategic. They know when it’s worth to take a risk and when’s not. Their strategies always turn out to be great for business. They know their market and how it functions and what is it that they can do to make the most of the situation.

They take a good amount of time to look at their business from all angles on a regular basis which helps them prepare for whatever comes their way.

How to Apply: If you are looking for a new marketing strategy for your business, look into all the aspects like paid advertisements, social media etc. Look at how your competitors are doing their marketing campaigns and what can you do to get ahead of them. Strategise your each move.

5. You are consistent

Most of the leaders think that they don’t need to be consistent and yet would expect their employees to be so. If you procrastinate everything, you cannot expect the other person to deliver the work at time. Here’s how you can stop with procrastinating stuff. You cannot expect others to follow a rule when you are the one breaking it all the time. Being a good leader means being consistent in your behaviors.

You cannot expect your employee to complete a task on time when you don’t even complete your own tasks on time. If you want someone else to be consistent, first learn to be consistent yourself.

How to Apply: If you tell your team that being on time for team meetings is important and it shows respect for everyone’s time, then it is imperative that you always show up on time or early for meetings.

These are the top 5 qualities that you need in order to be a good leader. How many of these do you have? Tell us in the comments below.